Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-11-02
PROVED ABSURD
The Graveyard Sensation
Utterly False-The Wa;..
Through lmpervious clay.
Interview With Julian Smith w.,
1t is an Artesian Spring and Cb,,.
lenses the Closest ANALYSIS.

Yesterday afternoon a reporte, -,
who had solemnly pledged h LIE
not to drink water until the puri,v a,asel
furnished by the Silver Row wat4r mat
pany should be fully esta bli.bsd O'n'
his way down through the fog prev,; roped
the valley to the pump house. Ann.sia
ing the building, he observed '''ea'
A PELLucID STREAM
Of about fourteen miners inches a..
through a ditch from the bnildinp in."n1s
There was such q contrast hst."s
the sparkling stream from the pamn bor'
and the murky fluid in the creek, thos
was evident they came from very di,su.
and that if any sur ace w"s
went into the prmp house, it went tb,o'9
a thorough purifying process before 6oS.A
it's way out again. In the pumD bon."u.l'
reporter loun.I MIR Julian Smith. wboeVA
perintended the sinking OF the well is'
which the supply Of water is drawn Ny
Smith, being asked to tell NJ
ALL ABOUT THE WE'LL,
first opened a trap door in the floor o,s,
building, disclosing a large well fall Of xl'
seemed, even in the uncertain light. n
very clear water. Mr.. Smith took a sn, |
bucket attached to a cord, and baulsa.
up full. The reporter asked:
.'"Dn you drink that water, NJ. smita
why OF course we do" said NJ. smf,
We re quite satisfied with it, and dor..
wish for any better"
The reporter thtn drank aId pro1op,..,
it good.
That well is twenty feet deep" said ".
Saith. land ten by twenty Zee, N szy. ",
didn't strike any wafer in tat I,a,t NM.
worth men'ioning-until we rearhpd ad-ntt
,ftwenty feet, and then We struck . y vow
ii qlick-~anu. and the water baiI-d MN
through the bottom. The water is sp r.ar,
that before the building was put IN al
he water stood fifteen feet d35pirt au.n
| could SEE a gin In the bottom oflt, Thu
water is.
REALLY ARTEsIAN WATER,
for it comes from beneath an itnperneabs
strata Of clay. which is eyiden, frrr IN,
TACT that it fills the well and overt ,vs;,
three feet above the creek. The ,u,i, 10
stratum is sand, and under that we DIN,
through twelve feet OF clay to the u,ir:'
sand. where we found lhr wit,r. Tnecis
ior the IN. st part wHssoHrv ami hard that
It had TO be pick d hen n..-irc. Ne ksnt
n side i the we'll low or than he o,her 81
az to make a u,n to hrhd sou Q so,fap
| ~ n TOW Z Eo r Il r,Itl,j g,.- az
| Of sand. The other 81 lie, as eita. w,nW
BE- 81 dry and hard That We I'D ! o nick it
and the sninp vas changed from sd. ia
side as we welt dow. Come or 10 /
at 'he creek tina flow. from lie well and
you ." i'll see that fr"ln its greater ~l~va,on
1t has ~ connection with II ysuriac water
in the valley"
The reporter accompanied Mr.. Smith to
The llttl- creek he h q Eoticpd issu,n, from
the building, and from clos" examination
he was convinced that it could not poS.i.
bly, have anv cnnhertion with the wateri in
the fiat NJ. Smith then srownt! hima
row Il wells that extern i"i in q southeast
erl!y direction from the building.
Those" sad Mir. smith" are all twelrs
feet htep except the iarthe>t or,, whichs
1876 feet from the well III u G, ard is tween Y
feet deep. The twetv.-f,ot wills are alio
cay, and no water WAS s'rarK in than
The t~wenty-foot well struck thu s4nr kind
Of a flow rs that in the iH!liiny. fha
water soon filled it and ran over tie ton,
But
THEY HAVE NO coNNEcnoy
with each otter, for when we pumped the
big well dry to put a crib over the sprag
the water in the other well rem ,inAu w.
changed. OF course, no one can ell 7x4cty
what direction the water comes from, but
anyone who examiaes tic @aoln can see
that II caLnnt cbins from. tie graveyard.
! 1on see there is no sni:a { ~~,t.ria the
graveyard. and no water was struck in the
well there until they got Cown thirty fe-t;
about ,he same level as we struck it here.
Ii there was any sipag" it wnuid he carried
OFF in the gnIch that ru"sthruu.h t~'.psrave.
yard, ard empties int. the ere / b low the
Colorado Smelter. lha "natural direction
for wafer to flow is down steam, and it
couldn't come back her. from the crave.
yard under any circumst noes. Now that
the purity Of the water has been questioned,
| would ike tn see tie matter
THOROUGHLY INvE>TlGArEp.
Il think the Council should send some Of
The water to be anafy zed, and | would be
willing. as a taxpayer in the city, to pay
my share ofthe cost. | am sorry this t,k
has arisen, but perhaps l. is all the bitter,
for il It leads to a ~tharon.!r nyfstiSsiion
it Will result III the purity II the wafer b.
ing incontestiblv established. { wouldn't
affect me IL particle il the country around
here wa all Sand a"l gravel, Ior il water
from the graveyard did reach t!+ w"r1s,i it
couldn't til er for such 4 dis alee without
b.i' g purified"
Tie reporter then walked oyer to the
graveyard. which is ] SEQ i-ct vest Il tie
pump house. He found that "hl!e the
is possibly sniHcWhat higher
til" ground at t Q pump house. It u
further dawn creek. at.: TIE Ont'rmte
corntry il such that snrach water from
TIE graveyard could not possibly r'n DacH
t. the :U no house, bat wD.!i Tx the
st route to the crceE. Il tEt,e WIS
any
SPACE FROM GRAVES,
t wnnid naturally Drain into the SH'NF
That cuts across tie graveyard between
lie cid and new sectors. Bat the wh0e
':tse now Hinges or or. q;t.t OF, and tha'
=. whether the wat rrutptG {" TINS rN
~ the S;v,r Bow Water t"@i:anyrlM
liter Immunity from cnnt#mfha'i'h "
wat-r OF ANY kind. fir IN ff1r4r"T"
ard nr 0 herwi>e. That qlesai'" /, llF
ct at rest by tha itct taa' 's
in the wells Of the e"GApal;
ises three feet above the level @! ,s
reek dose bv. and would rise S III h'-hr.
it was cnntinea. There Ish re'tf'"1
nder the irnpermea bic %silHts.o O. t!iT "bTh
ould be tapped BY driving Il ifie thfe',t
he bed Of the creek. AMI winch wot'!l i"','
self to II heigh. Of an urGrfeTInin Il NUN
er OF feet above the level q! t!ee"'
his reservoir cannot possibly incline 'i,+
graveyard to tn. pliap ''oi''c' ~
Iust incline dnwn stream with TIE st"tI"
ope OF the country. Ii it d"FS n't i''"gS
own stream. it must he cnt ~ the $'fF'"
!, some di~tance west OF TIE pump Lo">'
either case TIL current OI this s"o's4"7
n reservoir, ii it has on,
Nus FLOW WESTWARD.
Any INTELLIGENT citizen who gees Gown NV
udies the question with the iac'S p'"
m, will scp that it is utterly lnpoSSi'"
r any s%ubterraneau current. at such"
'all derth, to run eastward. up ts
'pt; and that il such an absnftlt! W." ~
it would not effect the water he
,. rs the orav YES are separated from ="
innerme.b le strata of the t0u-hes, h't'
CLAW. The ]reporter has aiken to arna
water again, and will cont'nt!e 10 nd